Vehicle-top



C. R. ALLEN.

VEHICLE TOP.

ABPLlcAloN FILED 1AN.15. 1915.

Patented May-31, 1921.

narran 'Sift-ares garant ortica CHARLES R, ALLEN, or ASHTABULA, on p y,

socknr` CQMPANY, vor ASHTABULA, omo, AA.,CORPORATION Toallfwkomz't may concern-1 Y Beit known thatv I,=CHARLns R. ALLEII, Y a citizennof the-"United States, and a resident; of Ashtabula, county of Ashtabula,

and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful. ImprovementV in Vehicle Tops, of

which'therfollowing is aspeciiication, the

principle of Athefinvention being hereinexplained and the-bestmode in which I have contemplated V'applying .that principle, sov as to distinguish it from other inventions.

The.- present invention consists, in effect, of. certain improvements in the constructienof'the 1one man top which forms the subject' matter l of my ;co-pending application 'iile'dMa'y 9, .1914, Serial'No. 837,356. The .term one man suchV other kapplication 4and in the art 1n gener'ahto designate a top for a ltwo-seated v vehicle that is wholly'supported fromfthe rearbows, so that itis not necessary to have two persons, one on each side, to manipulate the top in either raising or closing thesame, asis thecaSe where forward bows arek used, which requirev to' vbe attached-to thefront seat'whenfthe top 'is being raised, or 'detached vtherefromand lcarried back and secured-to the rearbows when the top is to bef'folded. The Vobject-fof kthe present invention is to further simplify the constructionofttops of this sort, as well as to provide means whereby the folding operation is facilitated; also' to provide an improved device for-securing the front end of vthe top to the wind-shield, which forms they usual point-of attachment for Isuch end to the bodyfo'f the vehicle. To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention;` then, yconsists of thelmeans hereinafter-,fully described and particularly pointed out .in the claims;

Figure 1 .Sideelevational'view of the :bows forming -the 'top-supporting structure Y embodying the present improvements; Fig'.v

2 is la view similar to Fig. 1, but showing a modification in construction; andFig. 3 'is a .sectional detail on a larger scale.V :sf As in the construction-fof top shown in VEHICLE-Tor;

top is used here, as in latter term applying ysecured to the forward 10,'AssreNoR To THE AsHTABUnAvBow or OHIO.A

y l Patented May einem. Application" filed January 15, 19715. Serial No. 2,363. i

ally attached to the body 2 of the vehicle adjacent the rear seat, together with a rear main bow '3, which is preferably,pivotally` attachedto such forward main bow.v In addition, a vsupplementalbowf maybe provided betweenv sired, being shown for villustrative purthe two main bows'if deposes in Fig. 2 as pivotally'attached tof said rear main bow 3. 1 e

The portion of'the structure of present' interest is theA forwardly extending frame whereby that portion of the top covering 15, which projects over thefrontseat, is supported;f This structure-comprises, as bevom fore, anarticulated auxiliary bow, or, as it 1s sometimes called, Outrigger bow, the more especially to the* outer portion or bow 7 means of arms 8pivotallyattached tothe proper which is j main bow 1 by latter and to therear ends of such out-- riggerf bow, and so constituting the inner portion of said articulatedV auxiliary bow' 6. vTherear ends 0f this outer-portion 7 ofthe auxiliary bow,

upwardly so that an angle isforme'd on the lower lside of said bow withfthe' inner vportion of the auxiliary bow 8,n thereby l or in other` word's'the rear 4ends ofthe Outrigger bow, proper, curve formed byarms f causing thelon'gitudinally rearward-thrust of the outrigger-bow', when the top is raised and suchbow extended in a to raise said arms 8 upwardly about theirV points of wardmain bowl. n

Pivotally'attached to arms 8, is a second position fof.- theV top,l isV designed' to lie par- 190, V substantially horizontal direction, to tend vg Y' pivotal 'attachment lto the forsupplemental bow 9,'lwhich, inltheextended The annexed-drawing andthe following: Y description set forth in allel with such arms so as to support'the top covering 5 at a point intermediate between the forward main bow l and .the outrigger bowf7. This supplemental bow 9 is preferably fitted with lugs or clips-10, that are .adapted to insure interlocking Vengagement between such bow and the arms 8 in the position of parts just referred to.`l

In `theextended condition-:of 'the top, in

which, asvalready indicated, thev Outriggery bow 7 yprojects' substantiallyhorizontally over the front seat of the vrvehicle, the'outer end of'such bow is designed to be. temporarily secured to the vehicle body, preferably through the medium of the wind- Shield frame 11 which, in modern cars, is a more or less rigid structure permanently attached to the dash or cowl 12. l/Vhile short straps, with or without snaps or like means, are ordinarily employed to securethe forward end of such Outrigger bow to the windshield frame, l preferably utilize two hooks 13 of the sort illustrated in detail in Fig. 3 for this-purpose, one such hook being pivotally attached to each iside of thebow 7 just back of its front end and on the inside, and being adapted to engage a pin 14 on the adjacent side of the wind-shield frame. rfhe pins 14 are fitted withl winged nuts 15 by means of which the hooks may obviously be clamped securely to the frame and the front end of the Outrigger bow thus held in more or less close relation to the upper edge of the latter. When the top is to be folded back out of the way each hook is swung back parallel with the corresponding side of the bow 7 where it may be Vsecured by means' of a second pin 16 with a winged nut 17 similar to the one on the wind-shield frame.

Since it is desirable that the forward main bow 1 be folded back simultaneously with the folding of the articulated auxiliary bow 6, links 2O may be provided, as shown in Fig. 1, to connect such forward main bow with the supplemental bow 9, Such links preferably having a loose connection with either the main bow or such supplemetal V bow as shown, so as not vto interfere with the stretching of the top covering v5 when the top is beingextended, since they have nothing to do with the support of the forwardly extending structure. However, when the hooksl 13 for securing the forward end of the Outrigger bow to the vehicle body are detached from the pins 14, and such outrigger bow folded up by depressing the joint connecting the same with the rear Vportion ofthe auxiliary bow consisting of the arms m the direction indicated. by the arrow in Fig. 1, the supplemental bow 9 will simultaneously be moved into a more or less vertical position, and this will have the effect of tilting said forward main bow 1 rearwardly, thus foldingthe same onto the rear main bow 3. ln this way all the bows are simultaneously forced toward each other. ln addition to links 2O thus connecting the supplemental bow 9 with the forward main bow 1, a second pair of links 21 connecting saidsupplemental bow with the respective sides of the Outrigger bow 7 may be utilized, as shown in Fig. 2. These additional links 21k will insure the backward tilting of said'supplemental bow when the hinge j'ointbetween Athe Outrigger portion and rearvportion of the articulated auxiliary bow is depressed.

1n both of the foregoing constructions,

the several bows fold up very compactly when the top is closed and project rearwardly from the point of attachment of the main bows to the vehicle, as indicated in dotted outline in Fig. 1. 1n both such constructions, moreover, by reason of the interengagement between the rear portion of the articulated auxiliary bow with the supplemental bow 9, a truss frame is in effect formed, when the outer end of the Outrigger portion of such bow is drawn downwardly so as to put the top covering undertension. rl`he arrangement of the links, and particularly of link 20 connecting the forwardfmain bow with the supplemental bow 9 carried by the arms 8 forming the: rear portion of the articulated auxiliary bow, insures the simultaneous collapsing of the several sections of the top bycausing all of the bows to tilt or fold backwardly upon each other, as soon as the joint in the auxiliary bow is broken or bent downwardly. The use of hooks 13 such as those shown and described for securing the forward end of the outrigger bow to the windhield frame, has the advantage over the straps and other devices heretofore used, in that the top is held against vibration vertically while still being allowed a certainV amount of play in a longitudinal, that is in a horizontal direction. Said hooks may furthermore be disposed entirely out of the way when not in use, as when the top is folded.

Other modes of applying the principle of my invention may be employed instead of the one explained, change being made as regards the mechanism herein disclosed, provided the means stated by any of thefollowing claims or the equivalent of such stated means be employed.

l therefore particularly point out-and distinctly claim as my invention 1. ln a vehicle top, the combination of a main bow suitably attached tothe vehicle body; an articulated auxiliary bow pivotally attached to said main bow; a supplemental bow pivotally attached to the inner portion of said auxiliary bow and adapted to interengage therewithfin'the raised position of the top; and a-flink connecting said supplemental bow with said mainbow, said link having a lost-motion connection with one of said bows.

2. ln a vehicle'top, the combination of a main bow suitably attached to the vehicle body; an articulated auxiliary bow pivotally attached to said main bow; a supplemental bow pivotally attachedto the inner portion of said' auxiliary bow and adapted to interengage therewith in the raised position of the top; and links connecting said supplemental bow with said main bow and with the outer portion of saidauxiliary bow, respectively, said links havinga lost-motion connection with said bows.

3. n a vehicle top, the combination of a main bow suitably attached to the Vehicle body; an articulated auxiliary bow pivotally attached to said main bow; a supple- 5 mental bow pivotally attached to the inner portion of said auxiliary bow and adapted to interengage therewith in the raised position of the top; links connecting said supplemental bow with said main bow and hav- 10 ing lost motion connection with the former;

and other links connecting said supplemen-4 tal bow and said auxiliary bow and having lost motion connection with the latter.l

Signed by me, this 11th day of January, 1915.

CHARLES R. ALIEN.l 

